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Jul 22

‘...I’ll call her and apologize tomorrow.’

Great.

If that's true, I’m sure she’ll be ‘good’ for a few days, as Mom says.

It’s not ‘good.’ It’s ‘better.’ It’s barely even better.

Or maybe it makes them both feel good, I don’t know.

Lies or no lies, hoping for an apology, or knowing there will never be one makes no difference for little ole’ Essence at the end of the day.

I’m still the one picking up the slack, bending over backward to try to fill in the gaps.

I’m still the one who will always be of no concern because I have no feelings to hurt.

This is just my reality. Horrible day or things going well.

This is as bad as it gets. This is as good as it gets.

I tear out of the front door like my apartment’s on fire and hurry down the sidewalk with no jacket - no shoes - my head down - my hair shrouding my face - like I used to go sit on the front steps of my aunt's apartment when I started to feel like I didn’t exist - letting the snow fall and melt onto my bare head-

-Until my body remembered it needed to try to not die-

I kick a snow drift, scraping my foot against the sidewalk as I do-

And with every trickle of flaming red that runs into the white, I remind myself that I have a very weak stomach.

And I can’t stand the sight of blood.

But then he sees the dragon’s pained expression go away and he looks more at peace. With his hair fanning behind him and his robes dancing in the water among the lotus flowers, he looks like a beautiful drowned corpse of a tragic youth who threw himself into the water due to his lover’s betrayal. His beautiful but peaceful face seems to tell that finally, he has tasted the end of a cruel life. The sight can make anyone sigh, and Yijun's vision go watery while watching him. He catches that thought and immediately wipes away the liquid gathering in his eyes, laughing at himself for his dramatic thoughts.

A dragon with a lover? How absurd, he thinks as he shakes his head to free it of those ridiculous fantasies. The recent revelations and his misadventures must have addled his brain.

Azazel, avoiding his boss's bloodthirsty gazes, scratched the back of his head and let go of his shoulders. "Ah, I don't know, there's no need to look at me like that, boss... hehe..." his posture drastically changed when Mephistopheles aimed the gun at him without much ceremony.

"Then move your ass and come over here! Do you have any idea how much I searched for you?! Belial is recovering because someone left her and Blanche alone!" Mephistopheles fumed as he lectured his subordinate more and more, who slowly crawled towards his boss like a dog being taught a good lesson by its master.

========================
Novel info: https://tapas.io/series/Complex-Love/info
Novel (PT-BR): https://tapas.io/series/Complex-Love-PT-BR/info
Genres: BL; romance; comedy; fantasy; drama
Status: Ongoing
Updated every Wednesday and Saturday!

“Are you cold?” Leiyu asked. “Do you want to go back? I can cook lunch.”

“Mm, Leiyu, you do everything.”

“I like taking care of you.”

“I know,” Thallios murmured. “I just want to be able to do some things for you.”

“You do the laundry.”

Thallios laughed. “Besides laundry. We can cook lunch together. I need to learn how to make more things besides rice soup.”

“Well, I’m not that great of a cook either. I just boil things or roast them over a fire.”

“Mm, maybe we can get a fish since we’re already in a lake. Getting hungry.”

Leiyu smiled and held him closer. “Sure, we can do that.”

In a recent issue of my comic book series 'Nightmare Heroes', my main characters are wandering through a dark creepy castle when they see this portrait...

Why is he yelling so damn loud? Wait, no, is this guy crazy? He thinks he's someone's savior? He must be delusional. Why is it your first instinct to save someone by harming them? Poor guy; maybe he just had a depressing childhood and his mental development was set back by a decade. It's alright; I don't discriminate. No, actually, I do; this guy is really weird.

"Excellent. Now—" before Mira could finish her sentence, Noelle suddenly arrived in her dragon form, gripping a giant boar between her teeth.

"What'd I miss?!" she said as she dropped the boar to the ground.

"Um…" Mira said, staring dumbfounded at her, just like everyone else.

Azazel seemed to enjoy being called "Mister" by how his lips formed a proud smile on his face and how his mannerisms became more expressive. Mephistopheles could only sigh at seeing his subordinate so full of himself as he placed the key on the wall next to the door and led people into the room.

========================
Novel info: https://tapas.io/series/Complex-Love/info
Novel (PT-BR): https://tapas.io/series/Complex-Love-PT-BR/info
Genres: BL; romance; comedy; fantasy; drama
Status: Ongoing
Updated every Wednesday and Saturday!

I start to comply with the request, but stop with my hand on the shoe-

He doesn’t look like he’s having the best day himself. I shouldn’t-

…Burden him with mine…

I almost get myself to put the shoe back on but I just-

-Want his presence right now - to be-

We don’t even have to talk or do anything if I can just -

…please…

But that should be his decision, not mine.

I know, but...

“Are…” my voice fails me -

I know - I only want one answer-

Selfish.

“Are you busy right now?”

I.

Love you more.

I promise.

It takes him 0.2 seconds to scan my face like he’s analyzing a time bomb.

“No,” he doesn’t smile, saying it seriously as he closes his laptop with a soft thud, “I just finished.”

The second he puts his laptop to the side he hugs his arms a little frigidly - his posture relaxing into the natural - playful, easygoing - but I still -

Find myself frozen by the door in one soggy shoe wondering-

If he’s just doing it for my sake-

He’s always preferred the quiet when he’s upset but-

He holds his arms out like a little kid waiting to be picked up-

“Come here,” he says shaking his head with a slight, sincere smile, and I walk - collapse into the hug realizing-

The more he thought about how he could have avoided this situation if he had been smarter and stronger, the more "what ifs" filled his mind and started affecting his skin, turning it gray. Addai sighed and gently rubbed his thumb on the cheek he was holding. A leafy being climbed his arm, and he chuckled at the tickles, helping the little, charming leafy beings to transmit their message to Mine. They started squeaking as if they were cheering him up.

Mine looked at them, and sparks of colors painted on his face and hair. First, the yellowish hue spread on his hair, turning the blueish gray into faint green again. Then, a reddish powder bloomed on his cheeks and lips, turning his ashen face into the usual peachy color.

"Did we succeed in cheering you up?" Addai asked in a low whisper.

Mine faintly chuckled and rested his cheek on Addai's hand. "I think you succeeded a little," he smiled, and a leafy buddy jumped on his shoulder.

"...the matters regarding the double agent and the Poppy Contract have been settled."

-

Here's the first report Azure writes for his mission. As objective as this is, soon, he will gradually acknowledge his emotions and learn that there is more to life than what he knows.

Letter Addressed To The Fire is a store told through letters, documents, news articles, diaries, journals, and the likes, aside from the perspective of the protagonists. Join Azure and Caramella Red as they explore their emotions and find solace amidst chaos... and maybe even build a relationship that can stand the test of time.

I hope you like it! Thank you so much!

-

Synopsis:

Twelve years ago, Azure Skylar, the Knight of the Cross of the unparalleled syndicate, the Chapel, was favored by the Pope himself to work on a mission that would determine the fate of their entire group against their growing rival, the Empire.

Twelve years ago, Azure met Caramella Red Aberdeign and found a friend in her. For once, he knew rest, quiet, peace, and comfort. Little did he know that Caramella Red was also the infamous Sweet Crimson, the ace assassin of their growing rival, the Empire.

A mistake, a wrong decision, a missed opportunity, all wrapped in the same regret that led to the ink on paper weeping about all that should have been said and done before time came and went. A story inspired by Taylor Swift's Evermore, Letter Addressed to the Fire will take you to a trip down the star-crossed soulmates' memory lane and tell you about all that was only whispered in the wind twelve years ago.

He put them down, and they ran outside. My dad closed the door behind them and locked it. He stared at my mom, and she stared back at him. I slowly started to make my way towards the kitchen. I was going to grab a knife to defend my mother. He must've known my plan because, instead of attacking my mom, he launched towards me. I started running, but he quickly caught up. He grabbed my hair and yanked it, causing me to fall to the ground. Before he could hit me, my mom jumped onto his back and started choking him. He still kept a tight grip on my hair since he knew I was still trying to get to the kitchen. He started swinging my mother against the walls until she let go. He released my hair and started punching my mom in the stomach. I got up from the ground and jumped on his back, strangling him with one arm and trying to dig my nails into his eyes with the other. He flipped me off his back, and my left foot landed wrong. I screamed in pain, which, I guess, alerted my sisters. They came knocking on the door. My dad picked me up and threw me into my room. I'm not sure what else he did because he closed my room door. All I could do was lay there on the floor, crying because of how badly my ankle hurt.

“Rae... Many know I no longer hear the Goddess’s voice, but I believe that soon, even I will no longer be able to carry out her will. My physical form wanes, with the evidence cast onto my very brow for all to see.”

I openly searched his handsome yet melancholic face. “I’m not sure what I’m looking for,” I admitted. “You look just fine to me.”

“Here. Right here.” He pointed to the space above his eyebrows. “A wrinkle, the symbol of my fading vitality.”

If this was a joke, it was a terrible one. “Relias...”

“Do you not see it?” he questioned seriously. I was about to deny it emphatically, but then I saw the faintest of lines appear as they would have on any other adult showing such concern.

“Everyone has a wrinkle like that!” I declared a little too loudly.